Mariah Carey dumps her cheating boyfriend via answering machine in the mellow "Shake It Off."
Flippant, short beats accompany Carey as she "ooh, oohs" and producer Jermaine Dupri tells everyone "to just bounce."
The intro leads to the chorus. She sings that she has to forget him. He manipulates her and toys with her emotions. She likens her leaving to the 1980s Calgon commercial with a woman in a bathtub. The woman would breathlessly say "Calgon, take me away." The picture would then fade to the woman's happy place, which would be a meadow full of blooming flowers and green grass. He's been taking her for granted. Meanwhile, she's been planning ways of moving out their apartment without him knowing. For her, being alone for awhile is better than losing her self-respect:
"I gotta shake you off/ 'Cause the loving ain't the same/ And you keep on playing games/ Like you know I'm here to stay/ I gotta shake you off/ Just like the Calgon commercial/ I really gotta get up outta here/ And go somewhere/ I gotta shake you off/ Gotta make that move/ Find somebody who/ Appreciates all the love I give/ Boy I gotta shake you off/
Gotta do what's best for me/ Baby and that means I gotta/ Shake you off."
In the first verse, she calls him on the answering machine. She tells him not to try to sweet talk her into getting back together. Her bags are packed. She had a long conversation with his mother about his behavior towards her. She warns him that he will regret treating her like a doormat. In the beginning of the relationship, she didn't see the signs that he was sleeping with every scantily clad woman he saw. But once his explanations for his absences become more elaborate and unbelievable, she realized something was up. She did the only thing a woman scorned could do: steal his car, fill it with her overrated luxurious handbags and laugh at what a loser he is. "By the time you get this message/ It's gonna be too late/ So don't bother paging me/ 'Cause I'll be on my way/ See I grabbed all my diamonds and clothes/ Just ask your momma she knows/ You're gonna miss me baby/ Hate to say "I told you so"/ Well at first I didn't know/ But now it's clear to me/ You would cheat with all your freaks/ And lie compulsively/ So I packed up my Louis Vuitton / Jumped in your ride and took off/ You'll never ever find a girl/ Who loves you more than me."
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Aaman
Pam, the link to your site does not work - please check it in your blogcritics profile. I suggest removing the www
2 - Pam Avoledo
Thank you, Aaman. I corrected it.
3 - Aaman
Nope - still doesn't work - Philip, can you set this for Pam? It should be just http://dusk411.joeuser.com
4 - Phillip Winn
Pam had correctly updated the URL, but the page needed to be rebuilt.
Nice review, Pam!
5 - carmellita
hi i love you please write back i am you are my favorite fan. my name is carmellita i love you agin
6 - Jennifer
I love this song! Mariah is the best female artist around. Mariah email me.
Love ya
Jennifer
7 - McBfly
Hi...
The link for Calgon commercial is not working (www.takemeaway.com).
Can anybody let me know the correct link?
Thank you SoSo Much.
McBfly
8 - yvoncampbell
YOU UGLY
9 - TANIKA
THIS SONG IS THE BOMB!!! MARIAH DID THA DAMN THANG WIT' THIS ONE. IT REALLY TOUCHED CLOSE TO HOME FROM MY PERSPECTIVE. THANKS MIMI FOR THIS ONE!!!
10 - pinal
Mariah is the best singer i've ever heard.. she got beautiful voice and she is talented!!
luv ya
11 - smmer mccoy
i hate u but my bff loves u - her name is samantha - well bye
12 - natalie
hiya .. your new song is brill .. i jus love it .... u r realy pritty aswell ... plz ryt bak ... love ya ! ryan :P
13 - corrinne
mariah cary ur georgeous babe i fell in love with da song we belong together now this 1 to keep it up LOVE ALWAYS CORRINNE mwah
14 - ashleigh
elo i think maria carey has got the best voice ive ever heard my best song i think she song is we belong together
luv ya
15 - kirara
I Love that mimi keep doing tha damn thang.
16 - trisha
Hey girl, you really captured the feeling of leaving a loser in this song. It happens just like your song, thanks for giving it a voice.
17 - Cynthia
Great song... Shake you off... I love it... and Mariah's voice is beautiful
18 - lady t
gotz a lovely voice.
would luv 2 do a duet wid mariah, shes beautiful and very talented
19 - Valerie
I just need to know if that is Chris Tucker in the car with her towards the end?????
20 - Joey
This song is really awesome!! Mariah is personally one of my favourite singers. The background music and lyrics are REALLY SOMETHING!!
All the best for the times to come Mimi,
Joey
21 - crystal
WOW! Your a great writer. You would get an "A" in my English class!!! That is an awsome personal responce!!
22 - eriqo
BELISSIMO!!!!!
23 - anonymous
Just like Eminem has said about her, "She is crazy and has issues, all she has is her looks".
Age has not been good to Mariah. I think she has been alot these last couple of years. She is aging way to fast to be so young. The makeup is just packing and packing on her face. Though, I think it is nearly undectable. Kudos, to her makeup artist and hair dyer!
I know that Mariah was recently at the UCLA Pysch ward for depression. Which is a known fact. I hope that she is better now!!!
But Mariah, I say, is a good singer but seems to have a lot of issues. She seems to be arrogant, obnoxious, and little off in the wet noodles (her brain).
It's like the recently implanted breast implants are leaking up to her head! And, it is also obvious she had a small nose surgery. For the most part, I don't count face surgery because you still have your small facial parts after facial cosmetic surgery.
But I don't understand why she would want to put a foreign object like breast implants in her chest! Yuck....
But more power to her if it makes her happy!
24 - ty
Whoa, interesting comments, anonymous! I love your post!!! LOL I wished you would have put your name I would love to know what other ideals you have about the world!
I agree Mariah use to be more humble back in the day. Now, it's like she is so bitter because of all the bad things that has happened to her like her depression.
Now, she has this "I am all that" attitude because there is more competition and because she was baraded by the press the past few years like a stray alley cat on prozac. I mean the media had field day with her and Glitter. They made fun of the fact she refuses to grow up.
Though, Mariah is still young at age 35 years old.
25 - raashi
Your right Mariah hasn't grown up after all these years. Who at her age talks about Butterflies in my stomach, rainbow and lollipops like she is a newcoming pre teen skank rivaling for Britney Spears and Christina A. pre-dirty, still not yet a woman audience.